[WIP] Prolonged DC Evasion

Peto · 11-27-07, 01:34 AM

Purpose: To create a more intense, slow and methodical escort pursuit and submarine evasion.

Why? I like to sweat.

Before the how and what I'm doing, I think a little background can help. From information I have gleaned from dozens of books and interviews with WWII Submarine Veterans and a couple Soundmen from Destroyer Escorts, I have come to the realization that what I really want in a subsim is not only the intensity of attacking. In fact, what I really want is an atmosphere that is even more intense while I'm trying to escape. And it doesn't feel right to me if an escorts attack (and my evasion) feels rushed.

Japanese Sonar in WWII had serious limitations--the most serious being the loss of contact with a submerged target during the attack run. This was because during the run, a deep target would would pass beneath the escorts sonar cone, creating a time when the sonar was blind. A submarine at 300 feet would typically pass beneath this cone at a range of approximately 500-600 yards (in real life). That gave the submarine time to evade.

Sonar Range was not the issue. The Japanese Type 93-1 Active Sonar could detect a submarine at 2500 yards if sonar conditions were good. This range remained basically unchanged throughout the war. The main upgrade the Japanese had in Active Sonar technology came from the Germans who gave them their S-Gerat sonar in late 44.

What I have done/learned: I've increased the sonar range to 2400 meters. I changed the sonar cone elevations (up and down angle) to 92-102 degrees. I then decreased the sensitivity of the sonar to 0.03--and I'm now tweaking it by smaller amounts. It is the sensitivity that is so important to creating a good balance.

What happens: I've now been testing this for over 20 hours. The scenario is simple: Gato Class vs Subchaser (Elite) in 0 wind/clear conditions. The sonar cone seems to be about right--ie the SC loses me on the way in while about 500 meters away. Now--you may be thinking that this will make evading easy--just go flank and turn. But it isn't easy. He still has time to pick up my noise passively and if he has the angle, leads me very well. Sometimes I am pinged for about a minute and he doesn't contact me. It is possible to crawl away and think you've made it only to picked up 20 minutes after he'd last had a firm contact. And I think the little guy learns though I won't say more about that for now.

The Downside: It can take 3-4 hours to get away. You can get sunk.

The Upside (to my way of thinking): it can take 3-4 hours to get away. It's all about "Angles and Dangles", when to pour on the coal and when to cut speed to 1 knot.

What I'm looking for (and why I'm posting this now): I want to run a couple more tests to tune this a bit more. But by this weekend, I should have a decent test set up with a couple small scenarios. One of them will probably be the one I'm using now. I'd like about 4 people who are interested to run this test and provide feedback. I would prefer old-timers who've been playing subsims since Aces of the Deep--because this feels a lot like I remember evasion felt in that sim. I would also prefer that this test is done with external view disabled.

Well--this is a long post. If I've bored you to tears send me a bill and I'll mail you a box of kleenex

. My closing thought is:

This is the most fun/challenge I've had evading escorts in any subsim I've played. But the proof will be in the pudding.

Cheers!!!

Peto

Questions Welcome.

11-27-07, 01:34 AM	#1
Peto Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: The details of my life are quite inconsequential Posts: 1,049 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	[WIP] Prolonged DC Evasion Purpose: To create a more intense, slow and methodical escort pursuit and submarine evasion. Why? I like to sweat. Before the how and what I'm doing, I think a little background can help. From information I have gleaned from dozens of books and interviews with WWII Submarine Veterans and a couple Soundmen from Destroyer Escorts, I have come to the realization that what I really want in a subsim is not only the intensity of attacking. In fact, what I really want is an atmosphere that is even more intense while I'm trying to escape. And it doesn't feel right to me if an escorts attack (and my evasion) feels rushed. Japanese Sonar in WWII had serious limitations--the most serious being the loss of contact with a submerged target during the attack run. This was because during the run, a deep target would would pass beneath the escorts sonar cone, creating a time when the sonar was blind. A submarine at 300 feet would typically pass beneath this cone at a range of approximately 500-600 yards (in real life). That gave the submarine time to evade. Sonar Range was not the issue. The Japanese Type 93-1 Active Sonar could detect a submarine at 2500 yards if sonar conditions were good. This range remained basically unchanged throughout the war. The main upgrade the Japanese had in Active Sonar technology came from the Germans who gave them their S-Gerat sonar in late 44. What I have done/learned: I've increased the sonar range to 2400 meters. I changed the sonar cone elevations (up and down angle) to 92-102 degrees. I then decreased the sensitivity of the sonar to 0.03--and I'm now tweaking it by smaller amounts. It is the sensitivity that is so important to creating a good balance. What happens: I've now been testing this for over 20 hours. The scenario is simple: Gato Class vs Subchaser (Elite) in 0 wind/clear conditions. The sonar cone seems to be about right--ie the SC loses me on the way in while about 500 meters away. Now--you may be thinking that this will make evading easy--just go flank and turn. But it isn't easy. He still has time to pick up my noise passively and if he has the angle, leads me very well. Sometimes I am pinged for about a minute and he doesn't contact me. It is possible to crawl away and think you've made it only to picked up 20 minutes after he'd last had a firm contact. And I think the little guy learns though I won't say more about that for now. The Downside: It can take 3-4 hours to get away. You can get sunk. The Upside (to my way of thinking): it can take 3-4 hours to get away. It's all about "Angles and Dangles", when to pour on the coal and when to cut speed to 1 knot. What I'm looking for (and why I'm posting this now): I want to run a couple more tests to tune this a bit more. But by this weekend, I should have a decent test set up with a couple small scenarios. One of them will probably be the one I'm using now. I'd like about 4 people who are interested to run this test and provide feedback. I would prefer old-timers who've been playing subsims since Aces of the Deep--because this feels a lot like I remember evasion felt in that sim. I would also prefer that this test is done with external view disabled. Well--this is a long post. If I've bored you to tears send me a bill and I'll mail you a box of kleenex . My closing thought is: This is the most fun/challenge I've had evading escorts in any subsim I've played. But the proof will be in the pudding. Cheers!!! Peto Questions Welcome. __________________ If your target has a 30 degree AOB, the range from his base course line equals the current range divided by 2. Last edited by Peto; 11-27-07 at 01:47 AM.